Today, tech. support from Open Dental helped me to bridge with VixWin.
After we bridged ,for some reason, no pictures came out . empty folder.
Anybody had that kind of issue? How is this bridge work normally?

You mean empty in VixWin? So do you already have existing patients in VixWin? Take a look at http://www.open-dent.com/manual/dentxproimage.html which explains the general concept of how the patient id number is used in both systems. But unlike ProImage, I don't think VixWin will overwrite any existing patient fields.

Yes,in VixWin. I have existing patients about 1000 in VixWin. I am not clear the following paragraph instruction"Compare the ID in ProImage with the Patient Number in Open Dental. The must match BEFORE you can use the bridge. You must edit the ID in ProImage to match the one in Open Dental." Do you mean I do need to edit the ID in VixWin to match the one in Open Dental.
I called to VixWin tech support regarding patient ID and possible to print out patients list and ID.Tech support told me " There is no way to print out and to change patient ID".
Jame and Debbi helped me a lot. Debbi told me that she will e-mail you how can we continue.
Thanks.

You're using the new VixWin bridge, not the old one which requires QuickLink, right? OK, I've looked at our code. Here's what I think is the situation:

I think VixWin avoids using much of an internal database. I think VixWin simply names the folders where images are stored according to the patientId's. Do you have a way to verify this? Can you look through your image folders to see what they look like? So if all the folders are named according to old patient id's, then that would explain why you can't "change" them.

Now, when you pass VixWin a new patient Id that does not match an existing folder, I believe it sensibly creates a new folder with that Id. Can you verify this? Due to limitations in VixWin, you might be stuck moving to new folders, and leaving the old ones there as sort of archives. You could import images from the old folders to the new ones using the VixWin interface.

The only thing I'm really worried about is if an old key for one patient matches a new key for a different patient. So that when you use the bridge you end up looking at some other patient's images. You (or we) should look through your old folders to see what kind of format they are in. For example, if they look like AB1234, then there will be no chance of collisions. But if they look like 1234, then we might have a problem. In that case, we'll have to get a little bit creative.

One other option is that maybe you really CAN change they names of each of the existing folders, and that will solve the problem. But be very careful doing this. Start with just one folder, and double check all of the consequences to make sure that doesn't confuse VixWin. If so, you'll have to change the folder name back.

Were you using Vixwin as a standalone or was it bridged to your previous PM system?

If it was used as a standalone, then the best place to start is to call Gendex tech support and ask them (nicely!) if they would mind telling you what their encoding scheme is for saving xrays. Most companies will use Hexadecimal (Base 16) in some form because it's ubiqitous and allows them the flexibility to encode longer decimal strings in a shorter format (which is important if your file names are limited to a certain number of characters). It will get tricky if they create their file names with parts of different variables, such as first 3 letters of last name + year of birth + date of xray and then convert that whole mess to Hex. Most of the bigger companies try to create as confusing a scheme as possible because it makes it harder for you switch software vendors that way. However, once you have cracked their encoding scheme, you need to figure out how it coincides with the numbering scheme in OD so you can match the proper radiograph with the patient in OD.

If Vixwin was used as a bridge from another PM program, it gets even more fun because you have to figure out how the PM company saved their radiographs. As an example, Dentrix likes to encode the Dentrix patient number as a Base 41 numeral, create folders with those numbers and then place the images in them like so:

4077G^#1
4077G^#2
4077G^#3

where 1, 2 and 3 are appended to the patient number sequentially to differentiate them.

It's not trivial to do a conversion, but it can be done with a little detective work. It beats exporting the images from Vixwin and manually importing them one by one, but that will be your only option if you are unable to figure out Vixwin's scheme.

Let us know what you find out and we'll see what we can do to help you,

Sorry Dr. Sparks,can you please explain more the following paragraph
"Now, when you pass VixWin a new patient Id that does not match an existing folder, I believe it sensibly creates a new folder with that Id. Can you verify this? Due to limitations in VixWin, you might be stuck moving to new folders, and leaving the old ones there as sort of archives. You could import images from the old folders to the new ones using the VixWin interface. "

Hi Dr.Starck,
Thanks for helping me to understand more about the system and suggestion.I am using as a standalone before.
I will call Gendex tech support regarding encoding scheme and come back.
Thanks.

Gendex tech. support said that they use Hexadecimal system to encoding scheme for saving x'ray.
she said VixWin installation CD has instruction for bridging with PMS and follow instruction and I will see how to do. I am not at the office today.I will go to office tomorrow and figure out.

Well, that's not really the folder I was talking about. I mean if you go to MyComputer, then browse to the actual Windows folders where your images are actually stored. I would like to see what that folder looks like inside. You have to know where your images are actually being stored on your hard drive.

The VixWin database is multi-volume and multi-user (in LAN configuration). It is organized hierarchically on patients. The database has a unique serial number allowing the software to recognize its files on different volumes. Each patient has a unique ID (Identification number of 6 characters) ,automatically assigned by VixWin, and generated as a random sequence of numbers and letters. Also, each image has a unique progressive number (00 to FF in hexadecimal) automatically incremented by the software. The image file name is then composed of the patientÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s ID and the image progressive number. For example, the file 038ABC0B.TIF is the 11th image of the patient with the ID 038ABC. "
How can I continue to coincide with the numbering scheme in OD?

Sorry I didn't reply sooner. So I see VixWin doesn't group individual patients into their own folders like we do. But if we pass in a patient id for a new patient, will it use the id we give it and append the progressive image number as you indicate? If you were to rename some files, would they magically show up in a different patient? For example, if you rename 038ABC0B.TIF to 0012340B.TIF, will the image now show up in the patient 001234 folder? Or in the patient 1234 folder? If so, then renaming the old files is the way to go. Please note that you should do this very very carefully with only one patient first. Have a good clean backup of the whole folder before you start. If it was me, I wouldn't bother with any of this. I would put a note in OD with the old patient id number, and I would start with a clean folder for the new patient id number.

Jordan,I spoke with OD customer support today about bridging my VixWinPro with OD, and was told that I would have to use VixWin in a stand alone mode. The tech remoted in to attempt the bridge but, concluded that it was not possible. From all of the posts that I read on DT, I thought OD was able to integrate with most digital xray programs. I am very disappointed that I won't be able to bring up my pts xrays with OD. That was one of the reasons I switched from PracticeWorks to OD last week.

Jordan, I've had this scenario happened to me before. It has nothing to do with OD. It has to do with Permission at the share level in VixWin. When you configure Vixwin in bridge mode. It creates two files. One called Unassigned and the other called VxImages. If for some reason when they configured Vixwin they used the default settings, the files where created at the root of the C drive. They have to make sure that the share the C drive accordingly and give the everyone users and authenticated users full control. That is why I create a folder, share it and then map it at the server itself. That way, I don't have to compromise the security of my C partition. For some reason VixWin (especially in XP) has this problem. After talking to Gendex support for a couple of hours. It all came down to resetting the permission and adding the everyone group and authenticated users to the share. You may have to take ownership of the re-apply the permission.

Vixwin works just fine with OD. we've been using it for years that way. It should be in bridge mode however. You should map a network drive that points to the drive where vixwin's VxData folder is. UAC (Windows User account control) will prevent Vixwin from seeing the networked drive properly, so it needs to be turned off. Go to Start > Control Panel > User Accounts > Change User Account Control Settings > and move the slider to 'Never notify'. Then click 'OK' and reboot. What version of Windows are you using (I'm assuming Windows 7)?

Gendex has a tool called VxSysTool.exe that allows you to set the VixWin db to bridged mode. I think it's in the Vixwin folder but if you can't find it let me know and I'll send you a copy. If you are totally mystified by all the above let me know and I can walk you through it step by step. What version of Vixwin are you using (should be Vixwin Pro 1.5f or Vixwin Platinum)?

Bill,I am using XP because my unit was purchased in 2003 and it won't run on Win7 according to Gendex. If I perform all of the steps in your first paragraph, will I need that program that you mentioned? If I do, please send it to me at "bfinch383@juno.com." I will attempt to follow your instructions on Saturday when I'm in the office.

That probably means you have one of the older SCSI Denoptix units (you're using a Denoptix to develop your xrays, right?).

You can use that with Windows 7 (I am) depending on the SCSI card that's in your PC (usually an Adaptec 29320A is usually the only one that works), but you'd have to load some older ASPI layer software and then the driver for the 29320A. The ASPI stuff only works in a 32 bit environment, but I'm guessing if your PC is running XP it's 32 bit anyways.

There's no UAC in XP so that's not the issue. I can't seem to find the VxSysTool.exe on my PC anywhere but I can get a copy from Gendex support on Monday. So I'll email it to you as soon as I get it Monday.

Bill,If one can operate a Denoptix unit in a Win7 environment, why does Gendex support, claim that it can't be done? I limped along with my 2003 computer until I became afraid it would suddenly crash. Finally, I purchased a reconditioned XP machine so that I could continue to use my Denoptix. By the way, I am really impressed with the ability in OD to backup and restore to a home computer. I wish I could find a program that would allow me to backup VixWin and verify the backup with another machine. I used Karen's replicator for years and according to the software my backups were successful, but when my computer crashed, to my horror, I found that my backups were no good. An IT person used a program that retrieved two thirds of my images, but I don't want to depend on a miracle the next time disaster happens.

bfinch383 wrote:If one can operate a Denoptics unit in a Win7 environment, why does Gendex support, claim that it can't be done?

I don't know.

But it *is* possible, because I'm doing it . But I had to hack it all together myself, as there's no off the shelf solution.

My guess is that they either don't know because they don't have the incentive to try (can't really blame them), or don't want to encourage it because it would be a pain to support.

And honestly, the SCSI interface for Denoptics is so old now, and this solution will only run in a 32 bit environment anyways (there's no 64 bit ASPI layer software available). Also, 32 bit systems will be harder and harder to come by before long.

I should have my Denoptics unit converted to USB so I could use it off the shelf with Windows 7 64 bit, but last I checked, that cost about $4700. So I plan to limp along as is for now and save my pennies for a CBCT

bfinch383 wrote:Jordan,I spoke with OD customer support today about bridging my VixWinPro with OD, and was told that I would have to use VixWin in a stand alone mode. The tech remoted in to attempt the bridge but, concluded that it was not possible. From all of the posts that I read on DT, I thought OD was able to integrate with most digital xray programs. I am very disappointed that I won't be able to bring up my pts xrays with OD. That was one of the reasons I switched from PracticeWorks to OD last week. Bernard Finch

I'm not sure which of our techs you talked to, but they were not necessarily correct. We do our best, but that sounds like a fairly technical question that may take some research and escalation. I've added some of the comments in the discussion above onto our VixWin page in our manual which might help. I would suggest calling us again and getting a ticket opened up and escalated to our interface department. We will come up with a solution for you.

bfinch383:I've used Cobian Backup with a good degree of success. For offices with a budge, this program along with a couple of External USB hard drives can help them save both, data and money. Cobian Backup is FREE. Of course, your disaster recovery plan should include an outside backup solution strategy just in case of a catastrophic even. Amazon S3 is a very attractive solution for this scenario. Getting an Amazon account is also free and they will give you 5GB for you to test. Amazon S3 can be configured with 256 bit encryption so you are good with HIPAA, and 1GB storage is about 14 cents. There are other charges that can be confusing but all in all you should factor in about another 4 cents of overhead. Not bad for cloud storage.

Anyway, you can configure Cobian Backup to stop and start the MySQL database, Open Files, and other settings. Get into the having of making sure that your end-of-day procedure includes closing all open Windows. You can also configure Cobian Backup SMTP Client to send email through your Email SMTP server and get notifications when your backups are done or failed. You can compress and encrypt the data locally if you wish.

By the way, what version of Vixwin are you using ? Are you using XP Home or Professional on your developer machine ? How many partitions do you have in your developer machine? Are you hosting the database on developer machine or separate server? Are you using a Peer-To-Peer or domain ?

I am using XP Pro, but I don't know about all of those partitions you're speaking of. I could ask my IT person those questions and probably get those answers for you. I presently backup VixWin and OD to one external HD. I am presently attempting to restore my OD to my home computer to verify that my backups are good. Thanks for all of the good information on backup solutions.

Partitioning a hard drive, is the technical term used to discribe the process of splitting a a single hard drive into several pieces. Typically, you partition a hard drive into two pieces so you can use one partition for your OS installation and one for your data. I like doing this because if I have to repair or reinstall the OS, I don't run the risk of wiping my data partition. Windows will designate a drive letter to each partiton you create.So if you have a single hard drive with two partitions. You will see a C: Drive and maybe and E: or whatever other letter is next availble or Windows feels like giving it. (The letter drive can be changed if you wish). Sometime is difficult to determine if you have a single hard drive or serveral hard drive so it is a good idea for you to ask your IT man if he partitioned the hard drive or not. This may or may not be your case.Typically when you purchase a computer from the manufacture. They will use a single partition, so if this is your case, more then likely you have a single C: drive and a single partition. (Sorry for all technical stuff. I hate it too )

Take a look at this link, http://www.gendex.com/US/Support/Downloads.aspx. Can you tell which of this version you have ? Also the build will be usefull. You can obtain the info from within the Vixwin Menu>Help and About Also, I read, your unit work on SCSI correct ? That should make a difference but just to gather the correct facts.

Lastly, like I mentioned earlier. I've have been through this before and it all came down to permissions. Make sure that if are using a Windows Peer to Peer network at your office that you have the proper username and password in all your machines. This tend to be a big problem with small office with no IT experience. You have to make sure that all your username and password are configured exactly the same on each machine in your network. Otherwise, you can run into permission problems. Windows will use the username and password of the user currently logged on to the machine and pass that information to the station that has the network share. If you the username and password that you are using is not in the local user name and password it will deny access. Sometime it is difficult to determine that from an application because they don't know how to interpret the error, hence not being able to access data.

My Denoptix unit has a USB connection. Vix winpro 1.5 which Gendex recently downloaded for me becz I lost the original 2000 cd. I don't have passwords and user names on my workstations. When I change the configuration from "stand alone" to "bridge" on the computer attached to Gendex unit, I can't see any images. I've been playing phone tag with Gendex to determine why this is the case, but no luck yet. I think I spoke with Debbie at OD tech support and she was able to bring up VixWin with the selected pt, but no images come up. She surmises that it has something to do with not being able to see images in the bridge mode. This is driving me crazy.

I helped an office that had the same problem. When VixWin was in Standalone mode they could view the patient images but in Bridged mode they couldn't. I was told by a Gendex tech that VixWin creates seperate image databases for Standalone and Bridged mode. The solution the Gendex tech told us is to load VixWin in standalone mode, then export the patient images. You may want to create a folder to place these in. Once you've exported the patients' images you then load VixWin in bridged mode, select the patient and import the images.

James,Since you have bridged VixWin pro before, can I ask for you when I call OD tech support? I am afraid if I call Gendex they won't know what to do. The techs I have spoken to at OD are really trying hard, but they don't understand what they have to tweak to allow one to view images in OD.

Thanks,Bernard

PS. I am still at a loss to know why this fix hasn't been incoporated into training for OD techs. VixWin has been around for at least twelve years and OD has been around for at least 4 yrs, why is integrating VixWin Pro into OD such a hassle?

Yes, you may ask for James when you call in. If you reply back to this with your practice name or account number, I will make a copy of James' comment and put it in your commlog, so perhaps another tech can assist you if he is unavailable.

Open Dental has been around for 10 years, actually. If the tech answering the call can't help, then it needs to be escalated to our interface department. Our interface department will help characterize the issue and will get better documentation into our manual. I also suspect that our conversion department may need to get involved in this one. Our interface department usually gets me involved to ensure that the issue is resolved in the best manner possible.

But I can't make a note about all of this in your account because I don't know what office you're from.

> I am still at a loss to know why this fix hasn't been incoporated into training for OD techsWe bridge to over 100 different kinds of software. It wouldn't make sense to train each of our dozens of techs on over a hundred of different interfaces in addition to all the other complex topics they get trained on. That's why we have an interface department that specializes in this. Also, each of the 100+ software interfaces frequently come in a variety of flavors. There are different versions, different options, and different configurations for each. So even once it gets to our interface department, it can still be very complex and can require repeated phone calls to get it working smoothly. Our most complex interfaces take many weeks/months to configure, although I think this situation should go much faster.

Jordan,I wasn't aware that there were over 100 software interfaces. I just read the documentation for OD and was delighted that VixWin was a software that was included as one that could be bridged. The OD techs have been more than helpful in attempting to solve this problem. On Friday, a tech spent more than an hour seeking solutions for the bridging problem. The reason I chose OD is because it is open source, and if someone comes up with a fix, it can be implemented immediately. I remain hopeful. My office is Bernard Finch, DDS.

I've now seen the notes regarding this issue. I have the following questions:1. When you were using PW, were you using VixWin in bridged mode?2. If so, are you still using the same path in VixWin for the images? 3. How are the individual patient folders named and organized? We may need to replicate this naming behavior.

When attempting to view images in Vixwin in the bridge mode, no images come up when one selects a pt. That is why James suggested exporting images while in stand alone mode into temp folder, then bring up VixWin in bridge mode and import the images. The only problem with this method, is that it would have to performed for each pt separately. The tech couldn't come up with a method to perform this conversion with all of the pts in OD. If you read previous posts on this issue, you will see that indeed there are different naming methods with the two modes. Someone would have to advise me on how to determine what the different naming and organizing methods are in VixWin. Perhaps I'll have to contact Gendex to ferret out this information.